Saturday, February 16, 2013

GBBC eNewsletter

Yellow dots on the map show where checklists are being submitted in real time.

GBBC is Underway Around the World

The Great Backyard Bird Count has officially begun! We're on
a record-breaking pace with 928 species already reported by mid-day on
the first day. The previous species record for the entire four-day count was just over 600!

Now is the time to be part of this
massive citizen-science effort. Join tens of thousands of fellow bird
watchers from around the world by counting birds and submitting your
checklists to www.birdcount.org.
Simply watch birds for at least 15 minutes at any location and tally
the number of each bird species you see. Submit a new checklist for each
day and for each new location. You can count in as many locations as
you like. Just be sure to enter a new list for each site.

Here are a few things that you can do to help:

Forward this message to friends, neighbors, and relatives asking them to participate. Every checklist counts!

Check this out:
Jim Carpenter, CEO of Wild Birds Unlimited, longtime sponsor of the
GBBC, talked about the count this morning on the network program Fox
& Friends, and he brought some feathered friends with him!

GBBC Participant Perks

Drawing Prizes

Don't forget to check out some of the great prizes you could win just by
taking part in the GBBC. We'll award prizes in a random drawing from
among all participants. See the prizes.

Behind the Scenes

As bird sightings pour in at a record-breaking pace from around the
world, our technical team is working hard to help keep all systems up
and running smoothly. Some participants may have had trouble connecting
to the website or signing in Friday morning. The team has resolved these
issues, so if you encountered a problem before, please try again.

• If you're not yet signed in, you'll see two options after you click on
the "Submit Your Checklists" button. Select the one you want—to either
create a new account or sign in to an existing one.

Thank you for your patience and understanding! We are thrilled to see so
many people participating from around the world. As the count
continues, if you have trouble connecting to the website, please try
again another time. You can submit your data any time during the count
and afterward until March 1.

Get Your Common Birds Poster

If you're new to birding, start learning a few of the most common species first. Download and print our PDF Guide to Common Birds.
This poster features beautiful watercolors of some of the most common
and easily identified birds found in the U.S. and Canada, and is a great
way to start learning about common North American birds.